ComDoc employees take charge

The culture of ownership at ComDoc has gotten stronger.
The Green-based distributor of printer and copy machines has announced it transferred 100% ownership of the company to its employees, effective Dec. 29. It was 42% employee-owned prior to the transaction.
ComDoc chairman and CEO Riley Lochridge said the deal, which had been expected, took place more than a year early.
The original plan was to transfer ownership to employees a year from now or later, but first ComDocs minimum stock valuation had to reach $205 per share, according to an agreement between the companys board of directors, ComDoc officers and the family of founder Walter G. Griffith, Mr. Lochridge said. The family and a few company leaders owned the remaining 58%of the company.
The stock hit its goal by 2006, so the transaction started early, Mr. Lochridge said.
The transaction would have been stopped if the company would have been able to attract a purchase offer significantly higher than its appraised value. If the two were roughly equal, however, ComDoc would still be transferred to employees, he said.
The Employee Stock Ownership Plan helps motivate employees and has played a key role in helping ComDoc revenues grow six fold since the program began in 1985, Mr. Lochridge said.
The culture of ownership has been right in the middle of everything we do, Mr. Lochridge said, adding that the businesss day-to-day operations will remain the same.
Griffith founded ComDoc in 1955 as a business equipment sales/service organization. Today, the company is the largest dealer of Ricoh copiers and printers.
ComDoc has more than 500 employees and generates more than $100 million in sales annually. The company has 12 sales offices in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York.